USCF Game 68(L): P.Miller-Kindred

It is round 5 and once again I made it to the money round. At the time I thought it was for small money of about a $100 or so, but as it turned out the game was for about $450. Unfortunately for me, my opponent was very strong and played in a particular style that gave me trouble and I ended up losing. The game however, was quite a memorable one and perhaps even a bit on the strange side. I had been reading a book called the attacking French and incorporated some of the ideas. At the time of the game I thought perhaps I may have done some of the concepts in the wrong order, but computer analysis showed that in fact black was leading for most of the game, but I was clearly rattled by my opponent’s aggressive nature and blundered, losing badly to a knight fork. My opponent Patrick Miller, rated 1608 with a new high of 1712, said I was a nightmare to play against, so at least I had that as a compliment. Through computer analysis you can see our play was not perfect, but you can see we were both very creative in our attack and defense. He just out played me and I think he had more left in the tank mentally. I think I was mentally exhausted by the end.